Ten Questions with Mike Petriello of MSTI

To give insight into the 2011 Los Angeles Dodgers -- who I believe will be the Giants' toughest competitor (great rotation, solid bullpen, good offensive upside), I asked Mike Petriello of Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness ten questions about the team. Not only did he respond quickly, but he also provided very thoughtful and intelligent answers. Enjoy...


1) Where do you think the Dodgers rotation ranks among all major league teams? Can you shed any light as to why people might not be giving the Dodgers rotation any credit?

I think there's a few answers to the lack of credit. A big part of it is that public perception of the Dodgers just hasn't been very positive over the last year, in large part because of the McCourt divorce, but also because of the Manny controversies and 2010's general disappointments. Also, while the Dodgers have signed four possible starters this winter, three - Hiroki Kuroda, Ted Lilly, Vicente Padilla - ended 2010 with the club, while Jon Garland spent time there in 2009. That familiarity means that none of them are the big new shiny toy that people are eager to learn about - their moves just haven't been splashy like getting a Cliff Lee or a Zack Greinke might be.

From a baseball point of view, I also believe it's because people are underrating depth. I'm not going to argue that that guys like Greinke and Gallardo, or Lee and Halladay, or Lincecum and Cain aren't killer 1-2 combinations. They are, though I do think Kershaw and Billingsley can stand up to most of them. But who's the #5 starter in Milwaukee, Chris Narveson? Once Joe Blanton is gone, are the Phillies turning to Kyle Kendrick? You need 5 starters - usually more - to get through a season, not 3, and the Dodgers have put together six quality options. That'll come in handy when other teams are dipping into AAA to fill starts, and so I think the combination of top-flight talent in Kershaw & Billingsley + quality veteran depth in Lilly, Kuroda, Garland, and Padilla make this a top-10 rotation easily, if not higher.


2) Matt Kemp went from being a 5-WAR player in 2009 to a 0.4-WAR player in 2010. How well do you think he'll perform in 2011?

I'll admit my obvious biases here, but I have a lot of hope for Kemp to bounce back to at least 2009 levels in 2011, and possibly even higher. If you asked 100 people what went wrong for Kemp in 2010, you'd probably get 100 different answers, ranging from "he got full of himself", to "he clashed with the coaching staff," to "he was distracted by Rhianna".

I don't put a lot of stock into the Rhianna bit, though now that they've split you better believe we'll be hearing that if he rebounds. I really do think that it was a combination of old-school management handling him poorly and Kemp not handling the criticism all that well.

Remember, Kemp got off to a blazing start to 2010. He had a .938 OPS on April 28 as the team was crumbling around him; they were in last place when Ned Colletti called out Kemp's poor baserunning and defense. As I said at the time, it wasn't that Colletti was wrong (Kemp's baserunning and defense had regressed, though that was partially perception because he never deserved the Gold Glove he got in 2009), but considering how many other things were going wrong with the team, it was insane to call out Kemp.

It kind of went downhill from there, as he got into arguments with bench coach Bob Schaefer and Torre, leading to a benching that Torre may have kept up indefinitely had Kemp not finally seeked him out. I'm not saying Kemp is blameless, just that Torre, Schaefer, and Larry Bowa never seemed more out of touch with the younger generation than they did there.

The good news is that Kemp ended the season on a rampage (homers in the final five games) and reportedly has a very good relationship with Don Mattingly. On top of that, Bowa and Schaefer are both gone, with Davey Lopes coming in to coach first base - and Lopes not only has a reputation as being the best baserunning coach around, he's close friends with Kemp's agent, Dave Stewart - and Kemp acknowledged near the end of last season that his year wasn't what he'd expected.

Remember, Kemp is so talented that he had a 107 OPS+ - still above-average - and it was seen as a massive disappointment. I really think all the pieces are in place for a big year from him.


3) Giants fans were sad to see Juan Uribe go to the Dodgers, but the general feeling was that it wouldn't have been worth the 3yrs/$21MM the Dodgers gave him. What are your thoughts on the Uribe signing?

In a vaccuum, I liked it, and I actually advocated for them to sign him as far back as October. However, that was before Uribe hit a few big postseason homers and before we saw how crazy the market would be, so the one-year deal I was hoping for was clearly not realistic by the time free agency opened.

So I'm really torn about it. I do think he helps the team in 2010, because his pop and decent glove make him a far better choice than the utterly awful Ryan Theriot. Even in 2011 it's not awful, because his versatility will be a plus as both Casey Blake and Rafael Furcal may be free agents. It just seems like a ton of money for a guy who doesn't get on base a lot, and whose career was basically over before getting $1m from the Giants before 2009. Uribe's a useful player, but $21m is a lot of money, and the Dodgers have made a few signings like this that make me just wish they'd just cashed the lot of it in on Adam Dunn.


4) Jonathan Broxton was a top closer in the first half of 2010, but had a very rough second half. Do you think he'll completely return to form in 2011? His peripherals seem to indicate that his 2010 ERA was at least partially a product of bad luck.

I'd say the holy war over Jonathan Broxton is one of the least fun parts about being a Dodger fan right now. People freaked out when he had high-profile blown saves against the Phillies in the NLCS in 2008 and 2009, as though every other closer on the planet is perfect each time out, and as though he hadn't been successful in the playoffs before.

Then he had a poor second half last year, and "the sky is falling" people really came out in force. I particularly enjoyed those playing amateur psychologist, claiming that they could look into his eyes and that he didn't have "it", whatever that means.

To be honest, I have a hard time seeing how you don't put a lot of the blame for Broxton's 2010 on Joe Torre. Broxton was hands-down the bext closer in baseball in the first half of the season, despite Torre's odd usage patterns where he'd bring Broxton into 7-run games and then lose 1-run games with lesser relievers because Broxton was unavailable. After shutting down the Yankees on June 26, Broxton’s 2010 line was asburd. He’d held batters to just a puny .217/.254/.258 line, with an amazing 48/5 K/BB.

But of course then there was the famous meltdown on Sunday Night Baseball (though it should be noted that James Loney botched what could have been a game-ending double play) and it was all downhill from there. Torre had made him throw 99 pitches in 5 days - i.e., what a starter would do - and he never came back from it. While his velocity was still good, it was down slightly and he'd lost movement on his pitches.

To be honest, I just hate the amount of blame a closer gets for things that aren't his fault. There was the Loney play against the Yankees, but he also was on the hook for the Mattingly "double visit" game, which wasn't his fault, and in another game he blew against the Phillies, Ronald Belisario faced five men in the 8th and got zero outs, and Broxton induced a perfect double-play ball that went right through Casey Blake's legs. Yet the firestorm around him just got worse.

As for 2011, I'm hoping that a winter off and being away from Joe Torre will help him rebound. He at least deserves the chance to prove it, just like Chad Billingsley did after his poor end to 2009.


5) Who would you like to see the Dodgers pursue as their 2011 left-fielder?

At this point, it's really too late. There's not much left on the free agent market, and certainly no one you'd hand a starting gig to. With outfield prospects Jerry Sands and Trayvon Robinson each looking to be ready for 2012, it's probably better that they didn't sign a mediocre vet to block them anyway.What they might do is get Casey Blake some at-bats out there against lefty pitching (who he still crushes, despite a poor 2010) and use the versatility of Juan Uribe and Jamey Carroll to cover those games at 3B. Longterm, Andre Ethier is a mediocre defensive right fielder and probably profiles better in LF.

If there is still one name out there that interests me, provided you can get him very cheaply, that's Lastings Milledge. He's still quite young, and he's been able to hit lefty pitching pretty well over his career. Throw in his ability to play all three outfield spots, and he could be an interesting bench piece.


6) I read through John Sickels' post on the Top 20 Dodgers prospects for 2011, and I found this statement to be interesting: "All in all, the Dodgers system has a lot of very intriguing raw material in it, but there are a huge number of questions as well. It is not a thin system, but even the elite guys at the top have a doubt or two." Are you optimistic about the Dodgers farm system? Are there any players that you're truly excited for, or that you think could make an impact in the near future?

I am optimistic, though there are certainly question marks. Much was made of the heralded crew of Kemp / Loney / Billingsley / Martin / Broxton / Kershaw / etc that arrived between 2006-08, and there has definitely been a lull in that pipeline over the last two years or so.

As Sickels notes, the Dodgers have a ton of righty pitching prospects, many of whom have run into difficulties. They're all very talented though, so I have to think that at least one of the Ethan Martin / Chris Withrow / Aaron Miller / Rubby De La Rosa / Allen Webster pans out into something legit, and being able to sign 2010 top pick Zach Lee away from LSU for above-slot money was a real coup.

The offensive side of the ball is a little closer, with Dee Gordon and Trayvon Robinson both possessing the raw tools to step into the 2012 lineup. If I'm particularly excited about anyway, it's Jerry Sands, who followed up a 1.019 OPS in the low levels in 2009 with 35 homers and a .981 OPS in 2010. We might see him this September, and if all goes well he'll be ready for a job either at 1B or LF in 2012.


7) Do you think Clayton Kershaw is underrated? I remember him pitching against the Giants late this season, and well, they just couldn't really hit him. But it seems to me that he's not really talked about when it comes to discussions of the top pitchers in baseball, and I can't understand why that is.

I do, and for one very good reason: wins. For a large stretch of last summer, he was arguably the best pitcher in baseball, and you could make a good case that he was better than Tim Lincecum last year. Yet despite that, he was just 13-10 and has a career record of 26-23. Though he obviously pitched better than that, he was sabotaged several times by poor run support and bullpen failures. Though I like to think we've made progress in devaluing wins (see Felix Hernandez and Zack Greinke winning Cy Youngs), if just 3-4 or those had gone the other way and Kershaw's record was something like 17-6, I think you'd be seeing a lot more respect. The fact that the Dodgers were a total nonfactor in 2010 didn't help him on a national scale, either.

I've been dying all winter for the Dodgers to sign him long-term before it's too late, because he's not even 23 yet and he's already dominant. He made progress last year in his one major weakness (getting wild, thus racking up the pitch count and not going deep into games) and if he can maintain that he's going to be an absolute beast in 2011.


8) What are your thoughts on Ned Colletti as a GM?

Suffice to say, not a fan. His tenure started out horrifically (big money to Juan Pierre, Andruw Jones, Jason Schmidt, signing lousy vets like Luis Gonzalez to play over Ethier and Kemp), steadily got worse (I will never get over trading Carlos Santana for Casey Blake), and though he made some solid moves in 2009, all of his in-season moves in 2010 flopped horribly. Everyone could see that the club just didn't have it last year, yet he traded a boatload of prospects for Lilly, Octavio Dotel, Scott Podsednik, and Ryan Theriot. Lilly was good, but the other three were awful, and he paid for the privilege. That's without even getting into the Garret Anderson disaster.

Colletti's got a long history of overvaluing mediocre veterans - he just signed Juan Castro again - while undervaluing young players. His supporters point to three postseasons in four years, while I point out that the 2006 team was largely Paul DePodesta's, and the 2008-09 club made it there on the back of Logan White's farm system. There's a pretty good argument to be made that the Dodgers would have been better off had Colletti done nothing at all. It's a constant fear that his highly thought-of assistants, White and Kim Ng, will leave for a GM job one day while we're stuck with Ned and his cowboy boots.


9) Do you think Don Mattingly will perform well as the Dodgers manager in 2011?

It's hard to say, and that uncertainty is what's worrisome. I know a lot of people like to point to the "double mound visit" debacle against the Giants, but I'm not going to kill a guy over one mistake. He's never managed (save for a stint in the Arizona Fall League, which hardly counts) and so we have no idea what he's going to be like. That's in large part why many of us were backers of Tim Wallach, who had managed the Dodgers' AAA club the previous two years and earned accolades in the process.

While some like to point out that Mattingly learned at the feet of Torre for years in New York and Los Angeles, that's exactly what worries me. I couldn't stand Joe Torre. I'm willing to give Mattingly his fair chance, but my biggest fear is that he is a Torre clone.

Either way, I'm happier to have a manager in his 40s than I was having one over 70.


10) It seems that beyond Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, the Dodgers offense doesn't have a huge punch. In the Dodgers ZiPS projections, for example, Kemp and Ethier are the only two to have a projected OPS+ of 110 or higher. The Dodgers then have three players -- Loney, Furcal, and Uribe -- who are projected to have an OPS+ slightly above 100. Beyond that, there doesn't seem to be much offense on the team. Do you think the Dodgers' offense will be their weakness in 2011?

Absolutely. The pitching staff is probably championship-caliber, because I think Kershaw takes that next step and the pitching depth is unmatched. But the offense needs a lot to go right. Furcal needs to stay healthy. Kemp needs to be more 2009, less 2010. Ethier needs to be at least lousy against LHP, rather than unplayable. Loney doesn't need to be a 30-HR beast, but he does need to show something that proves there's more in there.

The real problem is the way in which Colletti has put together his roster, because it's been proven time and again than OBP = runs, and this is an awful group as far as getting on base. Sure, guys like Rod Barajas and Uribe have nice pop for their positions, but they're dreadful at getting on base. Casey Blake appears to be on the downswing as well, and lord knows what you'll get from guys like Jay Gibbons and Tony Gwynn in the outfield. This is where losing the high-OBP skills of Manny Ramirez and Russell Martin are going to cost them.

The Dodgers are going to need most of those uncertainties to break their way, or they're going to be in trouble because there's not a whole lot behind them, unless you want to rush guys like Sands, Robinson, and Gordon up before they're ready.

There's always been complaints that Colletti wants to model the team after the Giants, and San Francisco winning it all this year with great pitching and fluky performances from veteran bats doesn't help. Those cries haven't diminished after signing Uribe, trying to get Aubrey Huff, and generally having a very good pitching staff with a very questionable offense.

So yes, offense - OBP particularly - is the great worry. It'd be a shame to waste what looks to be a very good pitching staff with an offense that can't support it.

--

I just want to once again thank Mike Petriello for his graciousness and for his insightful answers. If you have not already done so, you should check out Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness.

Also, you can expect me to continue this series (probably with a Rockies blogger next time).

Pat the BBat [sic]

I recently got a subscription to MLB.TV, and as such, watched the first game of the World Series once more. What I mostly got out of it was a refreshed confidence in Pat Burrell. Burrell didn't do much in the game, striking out thrice (yes, I just said 'thrice') in three at-bats; yet, I feel as though he played a crucial role in helping the Giants win the game. The one thing he did in that game: draw a walk.

It wasn't just any walk, though; it was a walk from Cliff Lee. Coming into the at-bat, Lee had walked just one hitter in the postseason. In fact, during the entire season, Lee allowed a mere 18 walks for a sparkling BB/9 of 0.76...

So Burrell comes to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs, and the game at a close 3-2. If he were to strike out then and there, well, the game would remain tight, and who knows what would've happened? Lee would've exited the inning without much damage -- just an RBI double to Freddy Sanchez -- and it would have been torturous. But Burrell didn't strike out. He worked the count, something that's very difficult to do against the almighty Cliff Lee. He worked the count full, then he drew a walk. Not only did he get several pitches out of Lee (I believe the best way to attack Lee is to raise his pitch count as soon as possible), but he extended the inning. And guess who came up after him? The NLCS MVP. I don't like to place importance on the intangibles, but I believe this momentum was crucial. If you're Lee, you had a chance to get out of the inning, and failed. Not only did you fail, but you wasted eight (or was it seven?) pitches in doing so. And now, as you're losing the first game of the World Series by a score of 3-2, you must face Cody Ross, the NLCS MVP, with two runners on. Oh yeah, and in the midst of your tense battle with Pat Burrell, your manager sent Darren O'Day to go warm up, implying that he doesn't completely trust that you can get out of the inning. Well, maybe, just maybe, that walk gave the Giants huge momentum.

Because after that walk, Ross and Aubrey Huff hit RBI singles, knocking Lee out of the game. Then O'Day came in to relieve him, and gave up a three-run homer to Juan Uribe.

Had Burrell struck out to end the inning, the Giants would be winning 3-2. Instead, they finished the inning with an 8-2 lead, and more importantly, Cliff Lee sulking on the bench. Thinking about this, I'm able to ignore the fact that he was atrocious overall in the World Series, and had a WPA of -9.5% for Game One. That walk just meant more to me than the numbers, even though it's seemingly illogical.

I'm admittedly biased because I have a love affair with walks. Perhaps it's because I've been so deprived of walks with players like Bengie Molina, while the team across the bay has high-walk players like Daric Barton (who had the highest walk rate in the majors), and now Josh Willingham and Hideki Matsui. But I digress.

That walk, in spite of all of the other at-bats Burrell had in the World Series -- which, I'll admit, were difficult to watch -- makes me happy to have Burrell returning to San Francisco.

Walks are highly critical yet underappreciated. They don't carry the same excitement as a hit, but they're still invaluable. For perspective: the Giants had the tenth-lowest walk rate in the majors in 2010. Of the nine teams with worse walk rates than the Giants, zero made the playoffs. Now, of course, correlation does not imply causation. But certainly, it means something, that not one of the nine teams with the worst walk rates in the majors made the playoffs.

In terms of walks, Huff and Burrell carried the Giants, with respective rates of 12.4% and 13.8%. Huff's rate will probably decline, as it was his first-ever 10+% walk rate, so Burrell (career 14.3% walk rate) will need to carry the team in that aspect.

I love that he walks so much, as it makes him an asset to the team. (In fact, I love it so much, that I'm willing to ignore the fact that he has more World Series rings than hits.) Then, I think about the fact that he's coming back on a one-year $1MM deal without any incentives. And I want to construct brilliant prose in honor of Pat the Bat's greatness...perhaps a take-off on the Cat in the Hat. It's just begging to be written. Ah, but I'm not that creative. So I'll just leave this picture here, for all to admire.

WS Game Two Recap

Matt Cain has been the Giants' best starter this year. I said this same exact thing on September 30, and it still rings true. In the postseason, he's been as good as...ever. He's looking like a legendary pitcher. Want some proof?

He's gone three consecutive postseason starts with 6+ IP and 0 ER allowed. This has been done by only six other pitchers in the history of baseball:

Rk		Strk Start	End	Games	IP	ER
1	Kenny Rogers	2006-10-06	2006-10-22	3	23.0	0
2	Burt Hooton	1981-10-13	1981-10-21	3	20.2	0
3	Jon Matlack	1973-10-07	1973-10-17	3	23.0	0
4	Whitey Ford	1960-10-08	1961-10-04	3	27.0	0
5	Waite Hoyt	1921-10-06	1921-10-13	3	27.0	0
6	Christy Mathewson	1905-10-09	1905-10-14	3	27.0	0

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/28/2010.

Whitey Ford and Christy Mathewson? If you ask me, that's some pretty good company.

His 2010 postseason ERA is a perfect 0.00...he's allowed just 13 hits in 21.1 innings thus far. He's struck out 13. Cliff Lee, who's been proclaimed one of the greatest postseason pitchers of all time, has an ERA of 2.51 in the 2010 playoffs.

His WS Gm 2 line: 7.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 2 K, 2 BB. The strikeout numbers weren't impressive, and he got a little help from the defense (Nate Schierholtz, for example), but he certainly didn't disappoint. He was able to induce popouts to shut down the Rangers.

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Edgar Renteria and Aaron Rowand combined for five RBIs and three runs. They've been criticized, scrutinized, disparaged the entire season for injury-marred sub-par offensive seasons. They were overpaid (Renteria is making $9MM this year and Rowand is making $13MM this year), but they've come out and done the job when it's mattered most -- in the World Series. Rowand is batting .375 this postseason (8 AB) with a couple of runs and a couple of RBIs. Renteria has batted just .240 but he's played solid defense and scored five runs.

Were they grossly overpaid? Yes, of course. But they're proving that they aren't worthless. They can contribute, even on the big stage.

This team was built around veterans. Those are the kinds of players Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabean love -- ones with experience. They have Huff, Sanchez, Uribe, Renteria, Ross, Rowand, and Burrell as veteran position players, all players with veteran experience (especially Huff, Burrell, and Renteria). Renteria has logged over 60 postseason games in his career. Maybe that's having a positive impact. Maybe -- just maybe -- it wasn't such a bad idea to build this team based on the philosophy that experience is ideal. It certainly seems to be playing a role in these postseason games.

As far as Rent and Rowand go, this will go down as one of their best (if not the best) games they've had in a Giants uni'. There was the home opener, in which Renteria hit a ninth-inning game-tying shot off of Billy Wagner and Rowand got the walkoff single. There was the game in '09 (I believe August 30) in which Edgar Renteria hit a grand slam to give the Giants a 6-5 lead over the Colorado Rockies. Today's game tops their best moments as Giants.

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This has been almost too easy. The Giants have scored 20 runs in their last two games. These are World Series games, though. This is supposed to be top-notch baseball, fierce, tight, tense competition between the best in the game. The Rangers have failed to match the Giants' level of play. It seems to all be coming down to the thing the analysts blatantly ignored: the bullpen. When choosing the Giants as underdogs in each postseason series, the media has sized up the Giants' offense as weak, and therefore come to the conclusion that the other team was better. They've been overlooking the bullpens, though. The Giants used relievers for seven scoreless innings to win NLCS Game 6, the pennant-clincher. Does any other postseason team have the bullpen depth to have done that? I seriously doubt it. The Rangers' bullpen has allowed 11 earned runs over the last two games. The Giants' bullpen? Three earned runs.

Derek Holland walked three Giants on 13 pitches. I can't honestly think of a Giants pitcher that would do that. I doubt Bruce Bochy would let a Giants reliever walk three consecutive batters. These games have been handed to us.

It's almost sad, because there's been very little torture. Finally, the pieces have come together. Everybody is hitting...there was always the potential in every Giants bat -- from Torres to Renteria (yes, Renteria has always had potential). Finally, this potential has come to fruition, all at once.

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These next three games are looking good.
Game Three: Colby Lewis is a flyball pitcher, and he'll be pitching in a hitters park, The Ballpark in Arlington. Although his home/road splits don't show it, I think the Giants will benefit from the longball in this game.

Game Four: Madison Bumgarner is a much, much, much better pitcher than Tommy Hunter. 'nough said.

Game Five: Cliff Lee. The Giants have gained a psychological advantage over him after destroying him in Game One. Throw in the fact that Lee has a career 5.07 ERA pitching in Texas and you have a good outlook.

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Bruce Bochy is showing that he is a good manager. At the end of the regular season, I would've been outraged at the notion of him winning Manager of the Year. I found Bud Black to be much more competent. But Bochy once again made critical, intelligent decisions. He brought in Nate Schierholtz in the seventh inning as a defensive replacement, and Nate promptly made a great catch. His decision to bring in Javier Lopez in the eighth inning with two outs to face Josh Hamilton worked out well too.

And...his decision to throw Lincecum in Game One and Cain in Game Two was highly successful.

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Ross extended his hit streak to nine games. He's moving up on the list of top Giants postseason hit streaks. I'll post the stat table tomorrow.

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TWO MORE WINS.

WS Game One Recap

What a game...

Let's start with the pitching matchup:

Tim Lincecum did not pitch well. There's no getting around it...his final line -- 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 3 K. Any game where Lincecum goes 5+ innings and manages just three strikeouts is a bad game, for him. He's only done that six times in his career. It's quite excusable, though, considering the offensive outburst the Giants had, the somewhat sloppy defense played behind him, and the fact that he's facing one of the best offenses in the majors.

Cliff Lee, who came into this game with tons of hype (considering his career postseason dominance), but had a terrible start: 4.2 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 7 K. In all fairness, he had the large gap created in right field due to Vladimir Guerrero's poor range, but it didn't seem to play a big role in his disaster of a game. Most of the hits he allowed were right up the middle, indicating that the Giants were timing his pitches very well.

Lee entered the game with a 0.75 postseason ERA in 2010. His 2010 postseason ERA is now 2.51

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This isn't the first time the Giants have done well against an elite starting pitcher. They've put up crooked numbers against some of the best in the game this year. Here are some notable incidences:

4/26 Roy Halladay - 7 IP, 5 ER
5/8 Johan Santana - 7.2 IP, 4 ER
7/3 Ubaldo Jimenez - 6 IP, 7 ER
9/12 Mat Latos - 4 IP, 5 ER
10/8 Tommy Hanson - 4 IP, 4 ER
10/16 Roy Halladay - 7 IP, 4 ER
10/28 Cliff Lee - 4.2 IP, 6 ER

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Player of the game? The guy who used this as his walk-up music. Freddy Sanchez.

Sanchez went 4 for 5 with three doubles, two runs, three RBIs. He became the 13th player in World Series history to have three doubles in a single game. He came close to tying the record with a fourth double, but his final hit was ruled a single with an error by Vladimir Guerrero.

Most Doubles in a World Series Game:

Player	Date	Series	Tm	2B
Frank Isbell	1906-10-13	WS	CHW	4
Jacoby Ellsbury	2007-10-27	WS	BOS	3
David Eckstein	2006-10-26	WS	STL	3
Craig Biggio	2005-10-08	NLDS	HOU	3
Trot Nixon	2004-10-27	WS	BOS	3
Jim Edmonds	2000-10-05	NLDS	STL	3
Bret Boone	1999-10-26	WS	ATL	3
Fred McGriff	1995-10-11	NLCS	ATL	3
Jim Gilliam	1953-10-03	WS	BRO	3
Al Dark	1951-10-08	WS	NYG	3
Hank Greenberg	1945-10-07	WS	DET	3
Max Carey	1925-10-15	WS	PIT	3

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/27/2010.

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Bengie Molina got a very warm welcome from San Francisco Giants fans. He gave the team three good years, so it was nice to see this. He also had a decent game: a couple of hits, an RBI, and two runs scored.

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Santiago Casilla shall be acknowledged for his 1.1 no-hit no-BB scoreless innings of baseball. He helped to settle the game down when the Rangers were starting to mount a comeback. He will likely play a critical role in this series, as the Rangers have a plethora of hot-shot right-handed hitters: Elvis Andrus (debatable), Michael Young, Nelson Cruz, Vladimir Guerrero, Ian Kinsler, and the way he's hitting right now, Bengie Molina. The Giants don't have -- at this point -- a solid middle relief right-handed pitcher that they can trust. Sergio Romo was good all year. Ramon Ramirez was great for the Giants. Even Guillermo Mota had his good moments. But not one of them has shined in the postseason. Someone's gotta step up, and I think it'll be Casilla or Romo. We'll see how it unfolds. But if the Giants offense keeps having outbursts like these, it won't really matter.

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Nothing is predictable in the postseason. Everybody thought that the Roy Halladay v. Tim Lincecum matchup would be an amazing pitchers duel, but it was rather disappointing (not that they didn't pitch well). Everybody thought that the Cliff Lee v. Tim Lincecum matchup would be an amazing pitchers duel (Lee, Lincecum poised for Game 1 greatness), but it was quite the opposite.

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11 of the last 13 teams that have won Game One of the World Series have gone on to win the series. The Giants, if they win Game Two, will only need to win one of three games in Texas to stay in good shape. Winning Game One was huge. They did this to their ace, at ATT Park, which is not a hitters park, especially compared to the Ballpark in Arlington. Three wins away from a World Series Title. It feels good

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The Giants: DH Options

There was a very good article on Fangraphs (by Dave Cameron) about the Giants DH options.

Basically, the Giants will have to face a minimum of two leftys in their three games in Texas. They'll face CJ Wilson in Game Three, and Cliff Lee in Game Five, and they might (although I doubt it) face the lefty Derek Holland in Game Four. That means, ideally, their DH would be able to hit left-handed pitching.

Dave Cameron proposes four options in his article:

1. DH Pablo Sandoval. This could work...Sandoval has a good power bat, and the Giants would certainly benefit from having a different guy manning third base. The clear problem here, however, is that he hasn't hit well against left-handed pitchers this year. He's batted just .227 with one home run from the right side in 2010.

2. DH Pat Burrell. Put Aaron Rowand in the outfield. This is not an option that I am very enthusiastic about. Pat Burrell has never had success in his career as a DH (you might remember that he was designated for assignment earlier this year, after doing a terrible job as the Tampa Bay Rays DH). As Dave Cameron points out, he’s a career .209/.306/.348 hitter when not playing the field." I don't think it would be fair to put Burrell in a position that he's uncomfortable with, especially if it's being done merely so the Giants can fit Rowand's bat into the lineup. Even if the Giants did DH Pat Burrell, I would prefer that they use Nate Schierholtz in the outfield. They'd have better defense, speed, and Schierholtz actually has hit leftys well in his career (.354/.390/.500). <--- that's no mistake. He's seriously been that good against LHP, although it is bloated quite a bit by luck (.414 BABIP vs. LHP in his career).

3. DH Aubrey Huff. Put Travis Ishikawa at first base. This is an attractive option from a defensive standpoint...not that Huff is a bad defender. Ishikawa is top-notch though. The problem here is quite obvious, and it's the fact that Travis Ishikawa is a left-handed hitter. He has not had much success against LHP in his career,  with a .230/.288/.246 slash line. In these one-run games, though, defense is quite important. His glove certainly outweighs his lack of offensive ability.

4. DH Jose Guillen. I don't think there's any reason this should be done whatsoever. I don't care that Jose Guillen is a right-handed hitter. He's old, slow, hasn't played in weeks, and his bat isn't even good -- he strikes out a lot, rarely walks, and doesn't hit with much power. So no. This is not an option. I doubt he'll even make the World Series roster.

So what's the best option? In Game Four, if Tommy Hunter pitches, DH Aubrey Huff and put Travis Ishikawa at first base. The Giants will benefit both defensively and offensively, as Travis Ishikawa is a good defender and can hit right-handed pitching well. In Game Three, I'm fine with trying Pat Burrell. I suppose putting Aaron Rowand in the outfield might work, as he is a right-handed hitter, and would benefit from the fact that the Rangers stadium is a hitters park. If DHing Burrell doesn't work, then the Sandoval option can be attempted for Game Five. When in doubt though, go with what will help the team defensively. Ask Brooks Conrad. Ask Chase Utley. Ask anyone that's played in the postseason so far. Defense has made a huge impact in these tight games, and I would hate to see the Giants lose because Aubrey Huff bobbles a ball, Pat Burrell can't get to a ball in time, or Pablo Sandoval overthrows first base.

The options aren't great. I think they just need to go with what's working. If someone's hot in Games One and Two, don't stop playing them...

Killing the Time

In anticipation of the World Series, here are several poorly-made photoshops...don't worry. I'll keep 'em coming. FEEL FREE TO SEND IN YOUR OWN SF-TEX PHOTOSHOPS to blog@splashingpumpkins.com!

Tim Lincecum and Josh Hamilton

Pat Burrell and Cliff Lee

Bengie Molina and Nate Schierholtz

Freddy Sanchez chewin' on some Colby Lewis

Brian Wilson and Elvis Andrus